Majority of Americans would be fine with a woman president, but not Hillary

Washington State GOP Chairman Susan Hutchison has her work cut out for her trying to unify Republicans behind Donald Trump, but she’s ready for the challenge. KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz spoke with her at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Jason Rantz: When did you say, OK I’m all in for Donald Trump? Were you all in from the beginning?

Susan Hutchison: Oh, absolutely not. My first choice was George Pataki. I thought he had the most experience running the country — or New York is like a country — getting three times elected in New York as a conservative who did major reform. I thought he would make a great president, but he couldn’t get out of that lower-tier debate crowd. I actually stayed neutral professionally because that’s my job…

JR: That has got to be tough, right?

HC: Well, it’s not as tough as you think. I want what’s best for the party. I want people to feel like they are free without any coercion by their party chairman to go through a process. You know, I believe in the process and I think as time goes on, the people know the right thing and they do the right thing. That may sound funny when it comes to Donald Trump in some people’s minds, but I’ve said multiple times that I believe those early adapters to Donald Trump were the canaries in the coal mine. They were warning America — just like the canaries do — that we’re in deep trouble and they knew that the person who could fix it was Donald Trump.

JR: Doesn’t Donald Trump hurt Chris Vance and Bill Bryant? Doesn’t the possibility of him becoming a threat to Hillary Clinton drive Democrats to the polls?

SH: The fact is, Hillary Clinton is not an ideal candidate by any means.

JR: She’s damaged.

SH: She’s extremely damaged and her big claim to fame is that she’s a woman and it’s time to have a woman. We say, yes, the majority of Americans would be fine with a woman president, would be happy with a woman president. But not that woman. The reasons are, first of all, she’s not a bright new face. She brings all the baggage of many years in politics. Secondly, women are considered to be cleaner politicians; they’re not shrouded in corruption. Oftentimes they run and win after somebody in the particular seat has been sent off to jail … And everybody knows that her life has been surrounded by scandal and corruption. The third thing about a woman candidates they’re considered to be people who can bring people together and Hillary is incredibly divisive.

JR: What are the threats from Hillary’s campaign? What does Donald Trump need to pay attention to?

SH: I think he needs to speak plain the way he’s been doing all along. He’s so plain spoken and I think that’s what people have really appreciated … So along comes Mike Pence, a seasoned politician, a reform governor with experience in the Congress — and he is helping to take those very issues like immigration and terrorism (just to name a couple that are very important to people in this country) and refine the messaging on them so that people can understand how Donald Trump would govern. Remember, there are two aspects of getting to the White House. You got to be a great candidate and then you’ve got to govern once you get there. We’re at that point in the campaign where you have to convince people you can govern.

Taken from Wednesday’s edition of the Jason Rantz Show on KIRO Radio. Edited for clarity.